Los Angeles man sues Microsoft over Surface storage claims

Microsoft has been sued by a Los Angeles lawyer who says the device doesn't… (Stuart Isett / Bloomberg )

A Los Angeles lawyer and unhappy owner of the Microsoft Surface is suing the tech giant, saying the tablet doesn't have all the storage the company claims it does.

After buying the device and loading it with content, Andrew Sokolowski discovered that the Surface does not have the 32 GB of storage Microsoft advertises because the tablet filled up to capacity too quickly.

That's because the 32 GB Surface uses up half of its storage space for the operating system as well as pre-installed apps. The 64 GB Surface also has just 46 GB of free space.

Regardless, Sokolowski, who filed the lawsuit with the Superior Court in Los Angeles, is seeking class-action status.

Sokolowski isn't seeking damages but wants Microsoft to stop what he says is a misrepresentation of the Surface's features and refund buyers of the tablet.

"Mr. Sokolowski's lawsuit is about protecting consumers as we head into the holiday shopping season," Rhett Francisco, an attorney representing Sokolowski, told The Times. "Microsoft is misrepresenting the storage capacity and capabilities of the Surface tablet, and consumers should know about it."

Though Francisco admits that Microsoft does acknowledge the Surface has less free space than is advertised, he says, "If you go through the Microsoft site, you're not going to find it."

"You have to know about these issues and know about this lawsuit in order to find information," he said.

In response, Microsoft said that it believes the lawsuit is without merit.

"Customers understand the operating system and pre-installed applications reside on the device’s internal storage thereby reducing the total free space," a Microsoft spokeswoman told The Times. "Surface with Windows RT customers benefit from the ability to attach additional storage via the integrated microSD slot or full-size USB port."